Original message Monday 8th December 2025 From Jan Burgess

I'm so sorry to have to give you some sad news. Michael is in hospital with a serious complication of his immunotherapy treatment, he has a bowel perforation but surgery is not a feasible option, so he’s being made comfortable on a low dose of morphine.  It's all very sudden, last Saturday he was moving bags of logs into the side passage to get ready for Christmas but was then admitted to Charing Cross on Thursday. He's comfortable & very sleepy. Peter and James are here, which is a great support to us both.
We’ve been able to move him to a room in the private wing which is much quieter and more suitable.

How things can change so quickly.

Best wishes Jan

TWO HOURS LATER Monday 8th December 2025

John Holden called Roger to say Mike had passed away. Roger informed the curry group.

I am so sad to inform you that Mike Burgess passed away a few moments ago in Charing Cross hospital. He was a good chum to us and I for one will miss him. His last few days were sleepy but comfortable but he had complications which made an operation impossible.

Such sad news.
We've lost one of the best
Cathi McGill

What a shock, I didn’t know he was ill. Poor Mike and just before Christmas as well. He was part of my life over the last 50 plus years. From working with him in the BBC to working with/against him for ITN, we had many a good time and laugh together in various parts of the world.              He will be sorely missed R.I.P.    
Bill Frost

That's incredibly sad. Mike was such a lovely and warm person. We will miss him greatly. Thank you for letting us know
Clara Millson

Terribly sad news. He was a close friend and a one off with a special sense of humour. I was due to stay with him and Jan on Wednesday night and we had other plans in the diary.
A great loss.
David Pearson

RIP Mike.
I have fond memories of being on jobs around the UK and some Foreigns with Mike. He was always good company.
Martin Cheshire

Very shocked to hear about Mike.  I always looked forward to seeing him at the curry.  He was always a great friend and I will miss him.
Vince Fitzgerald

I'm  shocked rigid by this sudden turn of events,
Kick Lera

This is very sad.
I was Mike's lodger for a couple of years in the late '70s. He was a good friend, very easy to get on with, and had a great sense of humour. He'll be greatly missed
Andy Stevenson

How dreadfully sad. A lovely man with a great sense of humour! I will miss him. We used to share a Biryani at Monty’s!
Barbara Probst

So upsetting for Jan and their family to lose Mike just before Christmas- I know Nick had huge respect for Mike and that he was a good friend to so many in editing.
Hugs to Jan,
Jill Wells

A delightful man - warm and interested - and as picture editor he was top drawer. Efficient supportive and always charming.
As some of you have already demonstrated, he will indeed be greatly missed.
Chris Lowe

Mike was a lovely guy always ready for a chat always kind and considerate. We will miss him .
Derek Wisbey.

He was a great picture editor - but most of all a fun loving great colleague.  He is sorely missed.
Liz Rembowska

He was also a great mentor to us from the camera unit when we were all expected to take up editing. Giving freely of his advice and extensive knowledge and experience. And a really nice guy to boot, as you say.
Rest in peace Mike, and thank you
Eddie Stephens

RIP Mike
Jon Daly

Eileen's funeral will be held on Wed 17 December at 10am at Oak Chapel, Cheltenham Crematorium, Bouncers Ln, Prestbury, Cheltenham, GL52 5JT.

It will be a colourful and upbeat celebration of Eileen's impressive life and her vivacious, loving spirit. All are very welcome. If you can come, please feel free to wear something colourful (don't hold back!) in honour of Eileen's sartorial flair.

For those that can't attend, there will also be a webcast that can be watched live or afterwards. We will share the link when we have it.

A wake will be held nearby from 11am - 2.30pm at The Hewlett Arms,16 Harp Hill, Battledown, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham GL52 6QG, UK.

Please do pass this information to anyone who knew Eileen.

With love,
Steve, John, Peter and Ian Westlake (Eileen's nephews and brother-in-law)
07793 143093


Steve_W wrote on Dec 7^th, 2025, 2:01pm:

I wrote an account of an ill-fated Drama-Doc about Napoleon's last exile we made on Lundy 1989. For reasons of difficulty finding a Publisher I had 400 "Crumpet Goes To Lundy" printed and self-distributed in 2010 but am constantly asked for copies. Our filming memories seem to be a niche market. If anybody can help with good suggestions I'd be very grateful. Thank you.

Sorry to hear of the death of the great Tony Austin (A.J.K.A.).
Condolences to his family, family and colleagues. He helped hundreds if not thousands of people at the BBC, including myself back in the 1970s.
Regards. Graham Bardgett.

Sad news to share: our dear Alex Kirby - “Axel” to so many of us - died a week ago, on Sunday 23 November. He was in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, with Belinda and their sons, Edmund and Thomas, constantly by his side. They stayed with him throughout the thirteen days he was in hospital, and when the end came it was peaceful. His illness, recently diagnosed renal cancer, progressed with frightening speed.

Many of us will remember Alex from Room 3116, the Specialist Correspondents’ Unit in BH; the World Service Newsroom in Bush House; the Online Newsroom in TVC; the room off the Spur Newsroom in TVC where those with specialist briefs came together in a multimedia pot; and, of course, on the road, gathering and filing his pieces. He was a joy to work alongside – generous, encouraging, funny, and endlessly patient with those learning the craft.

Alex had a gift for explaining complex issues without dumbing them down - a skill valued by editors, policymakers and the audiences he served. He reported from North Africa (for BBC WS and as a stringer for United Press International) before returning to London to cover home news. He went on to specialise in agriculture and environment stories for most of his career, with a short spell swapping wellies for a different brief as Religious Affairs Correspondent, before leaving the BBC to pursue freelance life as a “jobbing hack” (his own words on LinkedIn).

In 2013 he co-founded the Climate News Network with three fellow veterans of the climate beat, creating what one scientist admiringly called “the folk memory of British climate journalism.” The project embodied his long experience and his deep belief in the need for clear, objective, accessible reporting on the planetary crisis - not alarmist, not evasive, just rigorously honest.

With his characteristic irreverence he sometimes described himself as a “former Godbotherer,” yet he carried into every stage of his working life a deep pastoral instinct - an ability to comfort, to listen, and to help others make sense of the world. And he remained a loyal friend to former colleagues long after leaving the BBC.

A few of us last saw him in August, when Juliet Bremner, Philippa Goodrich and I spent a wonderful day with Alex and Belinda in their garden in Lewes. He was in his element, with memories of stories and colleagues - and the occasional cheeky expletive - flowing freely. (NOTE: we have a lovely photograph of him proudly carrying the leather bag we gave him when he left the BBC; he treasured it still. As we treasured him. We haven't been able to attach that to this post).

A service to celebrate Alex’s life will take place at 12 noon on Monday 15 December at St Michael in Lewes Church, 158 High Street, Lewes BN7 1XU. A wake will follow at The Pelham Arms, a ten-minute walk up the High Street, where the family will join us for refreshments after returning from the crematorium. There is no expectation of black clothing - colour is warmly welcomed to help celebrate Alex’s life.

If you’re able to attend the funeral and wake, a quick email would greatly help the family with their plans; thank you. I can also provide an address to send condolences to via email as well.

Paul Reynolds will speak at the funeral about Alex’s life and times at the BBC, where he carved the majority of his career. If you have memories or stories you’d like to share, please send them to me and I will collate them for Paul as he prepares his tribute.

My email address is: sefreestone@gmail.com

With best wishes, Sally Freestone.

Charlie Warmington, a familiar face for many years in Radio Ulster current affairs, and a regular columnist for the Belfast News Letter, has died. Charlie's career in journalism took in the News Letter, UTV, Downtown Radio, Radio 4 sequence programmes like WATO and TWTW, as well as Radio Ulster.

This tribute appears in the News Letter:
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/reading-looking-and-lis...

This year's event will once again be at The Star Tavern.
Tables have been reserved from 12:00 on Wednesday December 3rd.
Lower numbers mean that we will be in the main bar on the ground floor this year.

FULL DETAILS for 28th November below, now including livestream link information:

🇳🇿A Service to Celebrate the Life of Nigel Charters 🌿🕊️

A service to celebrate Nigel’s life will be held at 12:00pm on Friday 28 November, at St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, Clapham Old Town, London SW4 0DZ. (A private burial will take place afterwards.)

For those who are unable to attend in person, a live stream of the service will be available so friends and family - especially those in New Zealand, South America, France, the US, and elsewhere - can join from afar. The stream can be accessed shortly before noon on the day via the following link:
www.funeralstreaming.co.uk/watch/57293/

Following the church service, a wake will be held at The Apollo Arms, 13-19 Old Town, Clapham, London SW4 0JT, just a few minutes’ walk from St Paul’s. The gathering will continue until 4:30pm.

This from David Gibson:
It is with immense sadness that I have been asked by his wife Eileen to let you know that our colleague and my great friend Geoff Beech passed away suddenly last Saturday. I have so many happy memories of working with Geoff over many years and I am sure he was an inspiration to us all.
I am so grateful to have known him and his memory will live on with me always.
The funeral is at Exeter Crematorium on Friday 28th November at 1230.

A major news item on the BBC News site:-

More here.